New fire engine will '˜pierce rooftops' to tackle blazes from above

Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service said its new Rosenbauer Stinger was designed using technology normally used on aircraft firefighting vehicles.

The engine will use its ‘stinger’ to pierce roofling slates, tiles, and panels, through a series of hydraulical hammer blows, before water is jetted inside the roof space.

The rest of the vehicle is designed to act as a regular fire engine.

It will be stationed at Blackburn and Burnley for six months a piece, but will be used in major incidents across the Lancashire and could later be assigned to a station on the Fylde coast.

Area manager Phil Cox said: “We see this appliance as an enhancement to our aerial appliance firefighting capability, not a replacement. We have involved firefighters from the two trial stations from the start, and they have been key in shaping how we will train and use the vehicle.”

Oliver North, Managing Director of Rosenbauer UK added: “The AT-Stinger delivery into Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service represents the culmination of the years of hard work which LFRS and Rosenbauer have placed into delivering a state of the art ‘tool’ for the job.

“With Lancashire’s AT-Stinger, we answered the call of increasing pumping appliance technology for the front line fire fighters to increase their efficiency in an ever-demanding role.

“Effectively, the appliance is able to do more than any conventional pumping appliance, assisting the crew with more options in answering the largest, as well as smaller scale incidents.”